Take Drum Lessons At On Chord Academy

What to expect from Drum Lessons

From your first drum lesson you will begin working on the rudiments and developing tempo at the same time. For your first few months we work with our drum students on hand position and stick control on a snare drum or practice pad.

Once you have developed enough stick control and a strong sense of rhythm, we move you over to the drum kit for part of your lessons. You will still spend half your time working on hands.

Most people don’t know this, but the secret to mastering drums isn’t finding a great kit, or choosing the right sticks. It’s not learning a bunch of different beats, or creating a library of fills.

The truth is there is no secret to mastering drums. Like anything else, it takes hard work, time, and dedication.

One thing is true though—studying rudiments in drum lessons is a proven way to increase your knowledge, technique, and skill at the same time.

And teaching rudiments in drum lessons is what our drum teacher does best.

Drum students focus on three key areas in drum lessons

Rudiments

What are rudiments? The core of anything you play on a drums. From beats and grooves to fills and patterns pretty much everything a drummer plays can be distilled down to the sticking patterns known as drum rudiments.

Rudiments create the language that all drummers speak, and include elements like the single and double stroke rolls, and flams. Any drum education is rooted in a strong foundation of rudiments.

Beats

When most beginning drum students think of learning to play the drums, they imagine learning drum beats in their lessons. A drum beat is essentially a pattern of drum hits, that established the main rhythm, meter, and groove of a song.

These patterns change depending on the genre, speed, and feel of the song or exercise. And being able to confidently hold a beat in different genres is a second aim of drum lessons, after rudiments.

Fills

Drum fills, in many ways, are simply drum rudiments injected into drum beats. Drum students learn to judge the amount of time to “fill” and select and subsequently apply those rudiments into beats they have already mastered.

Drum fills can serve as transitions between sections or as miniature drum solos. Drum fills are an important way that the drummer helps lead the band, or audience, through the structure of a song.

What Students Learn

Reading Drum Notation

The most important, but often underrated, skill any developing drum student can learn is how to read standard notation. Once a drummer can read, the whole world of music opens ups. Any style, any genre, is now within reach.

Holding Drum Sticks

As the literal extension of the drummer, the drum stick serves an integral part of a drum students feel, timing, and sound. There are multiple ways to hold a drum stick, depending on the style of music the drum student is interested in playing.

Adjusting The Drum Kit

Every drum student has a different way of playing the drums. Different sizes, different reaches, etc. Part of drum lessons is learning how to get the various elements of the kit aligned correctly to make moving from snare to tom to cymbal seamless.

Counting- Basic & Complex Time

As part of learning drum notation, drum students learn the different lengths of notes, and how to count them. Student start with longer notes (whole, half) then progress to normal length notes (quarter, eighth) eventually mastering short and odd time notes (16th, triplets).

Working With A Metronome

A good drummer needs to be able to keep time. To play with a consistent speed. And there’s not better way for a drum student to learn consistency than by practicing with a metronome. Drum lessons teach a student how to set a tempo, listen for beats, and play along.

Working With An Audio Track

Playing along with a recorded track offers different challenges to the aspiring drum student. Even with a metronome, the student can stop, correct, and start over. But it is only when you are playing with a recorded song that you learn how to play through your mistakes.

Meet Our Drum Teacher – Nathan Chappell

Nathan Chappell has been teaching drums for 6 years, and teaching for us at On Chord Academy for 3 years. In that time, Nate has distinguished himself through his attitude and ability to connect with his students on their level.

Nathan Chappell is a professional drummer. Meaning, that’s how me makes his living. Nate is one of the hardest working and most versatile drummers in Davis County. And his diverse and exceptional experience shines through in his teaching.

In addition to teaching drum lessons at On Chord Academy, Nathan Chappell has also worked with the Ogden School District, Arts in the Park, Odyssey Elementary, and Ogden Arts Fest’s Nurture the Creative Mind Foundation.

Enrolling In Drum Lessons At On Chord Academy

Sign Up Today For A Beginning Drum Workshop

If you are new to drumming and have never taken lessons, or have taken fewer than 6 months of lessons, we highly recommend that you attend our Beginning Drum Workshop.

The Beginning Drum Workshop is a 60 minute workshop designed for absolute beginners to develop a foundation in the concepts and vocabulary of music. Workshop students learn the basics of standard music notion, stick grip, adjusting a practice pad, as well as learn some drum exercise they can play immediately.

The Beginning Workshops are a great way to to come experience On Chord Academy, meet one of our instructors, and get a feel for how drum lessons will be. Additionally students leave with a working understanding of the concepts they will need in their private drumming lessons.

Workshops are held on Mondays in the early evening. Space is always limited, so sign up for your spot today.

If you have taken Drum Lessons before, call today for a free trial drum lesson with Nate

If you already have experience taking drum lessons, or feel like you already know the basics from learning another instrument, for example, then you can schedule a free trial lesson with us instead of the beginning workshop.

At your free trial lesson, the drum instructor will ask you to demonstrate a working knowledge of:

Standard Music Notation

Basic Stick Grips

Playing Basic Rudiments

If you are ready to schedule a trial drum lesson,call 1-844-ON-CHORD (844-662-4673).